Quincy Obinna Amarikwa ( ; born October 29, 1987) is an American soccer player.

Career

College and Amateur

Amarikwa attended Liberty High School. He was a member of the Bakersfield Alliance club soccer team and played

college soccer College soccer is played by teams composed of soccer players who are enrolled in colleges and universities. It is very prominent in United States, Japan, South Korea, Canada, and as well as in South Africa and the Philippines. The United K ...

UC Davis The University of California, Davis (UC Davis, UCD, or Davis) is a public land-grant research university near Davis, California. Named a Public Ivy, it is the northernmost of the ten campuses of the University of California system. The institut ...

. In 2008, he led the team to the second round of the NCAA Tournament for the first time in school history. During his college years, Amarikwa also played with

Bakersfield Brigade Bakersfield Brigade was an American soccer team based in Bakersfield, California, United States. Founded in 2005, the team played in the USL Premier Development League (PDL), the fourth tier of the American Soccer Pyramid, until 2009, after whi ...

in the

USL Premier Development League USL League Two (USL2), formerly the Premier Development League (PDL), is a semi-professional developmental soccer league sponsored by United Soccer Leagues in the United States and Canada, forming part of the United States soccer league syst ...

Professional

Amarikwa was drafted in the third round of the

2009 MLS SuperDraft The 2009 MLS SuperDraft took place on January 15, 2009 in St. Louis, Missouri. It was the tenth annual Major League Soccer SuperDraft. The first selection was owned by the expansion Seattle Sounders FC. Unlike previous years, the SuperDraft w ...

by San Jose Earthquakes. He made his professional debut in San Jose's first game of the 2009 MLS season against the

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compe ...

and scored his first

MLS Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

goal on October 7 against

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise began play in 1996 as a charter club of the le ...

After 25 games for San Jose and one goal, he was traded to

Colorado Rapids The Colorado Rapids are an American professional soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference. Founded in 1995, as part of the Anschutz Corporation, lat ...

in April 2010 in exchange for a second-round selection in the

2012 MLS SuperDraft The 2012 MLS SuperDraft was the thirteenth annual SuperDraft presented by Major League Soccer. It was held on January 12, 2012 at 12:00 p.m. (ET). The draft was reduced from three rounds to two with the 19 MLS clubs selecting a total of 38 p ...

. Amarikwa made 31 league appearances for Colorado scoring three goals and was a member of the side that captured the

2010 MLS Cup MLS Cup 2010, the 15th edition of Major League Soccer's championship match, was played between the Colorado Rapids and FC Dallas to decide the champion of the 2010 season. The championship was played at BMO Field in Toronto, Ontario, Canada o ...

. Amarikwa was waived by Colorado in June 2012. Shortly thereafter his rights were claimed through waivers by the

New York Red Bulls The New York Red Bulls are an American professional soccer club based in the New York metropolitan area. The Red Bulls compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The club was established in October 1994 and be ...

. He spent two weeks training with New York but never signed, instead, New York traded Amarikwa to

Toronto FC Toronto Football Club (commonly known as Toronto FC or TFC) is a Canadian professional soccer club based in Toronto. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home matches at BM ...

for a conditional draft pick on July 21. He made his league debut for Toronto in a 2–0 home defeat to Houston Dynamo on July 28. Amarikwa scored his first goal for Toronto in CONCACAF Champions League play against

Santos Laguna Club Santos Laguna S.A. de C.V. (), commonly known as Santos Laguna or Santos, is a Mexican professional football club that competes in the Liga MX. It is located in northern Mexico and represents the urban area of La Comarca Lagunera, made up o ...

in a 3–1 home defeat. In February 2013, Amarikwa was acquired by Chicago Fire in exchange for a first-round selection in the 2014

MLS Supplemental Draft The MLS Supplemental Draft had a number of incarnations in US soccer: From 1996 to 1999, all players playing in the United States playing professionally in the United Soccer Leagues were eligible for the MLS Supplemental Draft, where they could be ...

. In June 2015, Chicago Fire traded Amarikwa to San Jose Earthquakes in exchange for defender

Ty Harden Robert Tyrel "Ty" Harden (born March 6, 1984) is an American soccer player who last played for Chicago Fire in Major League Soccer. Career Collegiate Harden was a regular for four years at the University of Washington, playing every match ...

. He scored two goals in four minutes in his second Earthquakes appearance during the

California Clásico The California Clásico is the name given to the soccer rivalry between the LA Galaxy and the San Jose Earthquakes. This Major League Soccer rivalry reached its zenith from 2001 to 2005, during which time the Earthquakes and the Galaxy combined ...

against the LA Galaxy. Amarikwa was sidelined for the rest of the 2016 season and for the first half of the 2017 season after suffering a knee injury on September 24, 2016, against Sporting Kansas City. He made his return to the team on July 14, 2017, in a friendly match against

Eintracht Frankfurt Eintracht Frankfurt e.V. () is a professional sports club based in Frankfurt, Hesse, Germany. It is best known for its football club, which was founded on 8 March 1899. The team is currently playing in the Bundesliga, the top tier of the Germa ...

, scoring a penalty kick twelve minutes after substituting in for Simon Dawkins and securing San Jose's 4–1 victory. On October 14, 2017, he was nominated for the

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award MLS Comeback Player of the Year is a Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. Th ...

. On August 8, 2018, Amarikwa was traded by the Earthquakes to Montreal Impact in exchange for Dominic Oduro. He made his debut for Montreal on August 11, 2018, in a game against

Real Salt Lake Real Salt Lake, often shortened to RSL, is an American professional soccer franchise based in the Salt Lake City metropolitan area. The club competes as a member club of Major League Soccer (MLS) in the Western Conference. RSL began play in 2 ...

. On March 1, 2019, after speculation and Amarikwa appearing at D.C. United practices, Quincy Amarikwa signed with D.C. United. Amarikwa scored his first goal for D.C. United in a friendly against

Real Betis Real Betis Balompié, known as Real Betis () or just Betis, is a Spanish professional football club based in Seville in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1907, it plays in La Liga. It holds home games at the Estadio Benito Vill ...

on May 22, 2019. Amarikwa then scored his first D.C. United

goal against the

on July 12, 2019. His goal equalized the game 2-2. His contract with D.C. United ran out after the 2019 season. On September 1, 2020, Amarikwa signed with

USL Championship The USL Championship (USLC) is a professional men's soccer league in the United States that began its inaugural season in 2011. The USL is sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation (U.S. Soccer) as a Division II league since 2017, p ...

side Las Vegas Lights. On August 11, 2021, Amarikwa joined

Oakland Roots SC Oakland Roots Sports Club is an American professional soccer team based in Oakland, California. The club was formed in 2018 by a group of Oakland natives, and began play in the National Independent Soccer Association in the fall of 2019. In 2021, ...

Personal life

Amarikwa is a member of the UC Davis Hall of Fame. While studying there, Quincy Amarikwa met his wife Sirena Amarikwa; they were engaged in 2016 while Sirena was pursuing her professional track career, and wed in January 2017. They have two sons, Sir Amarikwa and Lord Amarikwa. Amarikwa and Ross LaBauex co-own a brand called Perfect Soccer, a Black news source for soccer. He is also Founder and Director of Strategic Partnerships for Black Players for Change, serving as interim director when the organisation was launched.

Honors

Colorado Rapids

* Major League Soccer MLS Cup (1): 2010

Statistics

Statistics accurate as of April 14, 2018.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Amarikwa, Quincy 1987 births Living people Soccer players from California American expatriate soccer players American sportspeople of Nigerian descent UC Davis Aggies men's soccer players Bakersfield Brigade players San Jose Earthquakes players Colorado Rapids players Toronto FC players Chicago Fire FC players CF Montréal players D.C. United players Las Vegas Lights FC players Oakland Roots SC players University of California, Davis alumni Expatriate soccer players in Canada USL League Two players Major League Soccer players San Jose Earthquakes draft picks Sportspeople from Bakersfield, California American soccer players Men's association football forwards